The 50-year-old actress will star alongside Ian McKellen and Hattie Morahan in the tale about a retired Sherlock Holmes

After all those years of letting Mrs Hudson run around after him, the crime-solving investigator has decided to give her a well-deserved break and hired a replacement, in the shape of Laura Linney.

The 50-year-old star of The Big C, Hyde Park on Hudson and Love Actually is joining the cast of Sherlock tale A Slight Trick of the Mind as Holmes' housekeeper Mrs Munro.

Linney will appear alongside Ian McKellen in the film, which is based on Mitch Cullin's novel of the same name. Hattie Morahan, who you might recognise from roles in Outnumbered and The Bletchley Circle, has also been cast in an unknown role.

Set in 1947, A Slight Trick of the Mind introduces an aged Sherlock Holmes who revisits the unsolved case which forced him into retirement.

Twilight and The First Estate's Bill Condon is on board to direct the film, which has been adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, who's worked on Upstairs Downstairs and The Duchess.